Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ A Matter Of Choice ❯ Family Ties ( Chapter 38 )

Family Ties

 

Tegan looked around her cautiously. She knew Adam would be around here somewhere. She slowed her pace as she came up to the bridge. Yes it was beautiful, but it would be a perfect place for Adam to strike. She looked at her watch. Two a.m. There weren't many cars around, but there never were at this time of night. Cautiously she looked around her as she walked onto the bridge. It wasn't as if she wanted to cross, she only wanted to walk onto the bridge and look out across the water. She walked out a little further, then looked out onto the bay and smiled. A cool breeze was blowing. The view of the water was lovely in the moonlight; not that she'd ever seen it in the light of day.

 

Suddenly she was aware of a presence and stopped, listening for the slightest indication of an attack. All she could hear was the strong steady beating of her heart, and a solitary car passing by. She stayed absolutely still in absolute silence as the presence of cars became non-existent. Now her heart seemed incredibly loud, the blood pounding in her ears, the breeze blowing solitary strands of hair across her face, now totally alone on the bridge. She sighed and relaxed. She could have sworn she had sensed something.

 

Suddenly she flew backwards, thrown back by an unseen force, pain blossoming in her chest. She staggered and turned to see Adam crouching where she had just been standing, having dropped down on her from one of the support struts above her. She stood panting, trying to regain the breath that he had knocked out of her. He walked steadily towards her, his face a mask of grim determination. She drew out her blades unseen by Adam and waited until he was close, her heart pounding in anticipation, and a small measure of fear.

 

Adam had a reputation, one well earned. Once he was turned there had been… incidents. He would disappear for a couple of days at a time, and whenever he did return, some poor soul would be found dead, nothing but a mangled and tortured mess. He never denied his involvement, more bragged about it. He had a taste for pain, and on those sojourns spent a couple of days brutally torturing his captured victim, just to see how much he could make them scream. When the poor soul reached their limits or he got bored, he drained them, leaving their pitiful broken remains behind. According to Torin it didn't take long for Demetriov to step in, and the battles had been bitter, but Demetriov had the rest of the group behind him at that point, and Adam had been forced to reign in his behaviour.

 

This did not stop him from being cruel and insane, and hence Torin's very vocal concern for her. Their eyes met, and she saw the way he looked at her, like a very interesting toy he'd been given to play with and it made her swallow hard. No, she would not get distracted and she would not let his reputation overawe her. He approached her in calm measured strides, but paused just out of reach of any attack.

 

“You really are an enigma to me Tegan.” He said circling her slowly, a dark smile creeping across his features.

 

“What?” She asked as she forced herself to remain calm.

 

“You come all this way to San Francisco to get away. Then you suddenly turn round and decide to stand your ground. Despite all the threats, the time you were close to death, and yet you have never given up. Why?” He cocked his head, an almost childlike gesture as he asked.

 

Tegan stayed quiet, doubt suddenly surfaced in her mind as she realised that she really didn't know what to say.

 

“It seems to me that you are not even sure yourself.” He taunted.

 

“What does it matter to you anyway? Am I not just prey to you after all? I've seen the way you feed, and you are more of a carnivore than any of them.”

 

“True, but that doesn't matter. You are avoiding the question.” He pressed, his eyes shining, knowing he had her on the back foot.

 

“And you are avoiding fighting me. Any particular reason?”

 

“I am deciding whether I should be gentle with you because we share a father.” He threw at her, grinning in anticipation of her reaction.

 

He didn't give a bloody damn about the fact, but this was just foreplay, an appetiser to the main event, and he was enjoying seeing her wince. Tegan flushed, the knowledge that she had vampire genes was something she had never quite come to terms with.

 

“I see, not too proud of that fact are you?” He leered.

 

“Don't try and do me any favours. I don't care if we are related, I won't hold back.”

 

“Then neither will I!” He spat, his tone suddenly turning vicious as he lunged for her.

 

Tegan fortunately was ready for such tactics and used this moment to slash across his body with her right blade, he wasn't close enough for it to be more than a scratch, but nevertheless it was a strike home. Unexpectedly he dived for her, knocking her off her feet and into the road, both blades flying out of her grip, spinning away from her. Quickly she scrambled, trying to reach them, but Adam pounced, pinning her to the road from behind, her face pressed hard onto the tarmac. Adam spread his weight across her shoulders making it impossible for her to escape. Tegan shouted in frustration as she felt Adam pull her hair away from her neck, helpless to stop him from getting at her throat.

 

“You are one hell of a stubborn bitch!” He said as she still tried to struggle away from him. “I am going to have so much fun with you.” He leered.

 

He pinned her arms down, aborting the futile attempt. She screamed in frustration as he locked down every attempt to move.

 

“Not like this!” She shouted through gritted teeth.

 

“Oh yes! Like this!” He replied, bending to her ear. “I don't care what Demetriov says, you've wandered into my territory and I will do what I please with you.” He murmured grinning darkly. “And then I shall thoroughly enjoy Torin's face when I give him your body.”

 

“You sick shit!”

 

Adam chuckled darkly, leaning forward to lick at her neck, loving the shudder of revulsion that ran through her.

 

“Guilty as charged.” He leered in her ear. “But for now, a taste wouldn't hurt, weaken you, make you more compliant. I do love it when my victims are helpless.”

 

Tegan was fighting down rapidly rising panic as he toyed with her. She put all her strength into freeing an arm, succeeding as Adam's lips pressed against her throat. She screamed as his teeth pierced the flesh, as much in fear as anything else, and desperately slammed her elbow into his ribs. Adam roared in pain, disengaging from her neck. Seizing this momentary advantage Tegan pushed herself up with her arms straining with both her weight and his. She managed to get one knee forward allowing her to force him off her back..

 

Quickly she scrambled to her feet and dived for the blades, turning in time for Adam to knock her onto her back. She slashed him across the face, brought her knee up sharply between his legs and pushed him away, staggering back to her feet. She was suddenly aware of a police patrol car drawing up as she turned to run, a large police officer stepping out a gun pointed at her.

 

“Alright lady drop the weaponry and get your hands where I can see them. Don't make me have to do something I don't want.” He warned.

 

“You keep out of this!” She shouted cutting him off before he could say anything else. “You don't understand!”

 

Distracted as she was, before she knew what was happening Adam had hold of her, was lifting her off her feet and threw her as if she were a rag doll. Tegan landed awkwardly on her side, gritting her teeth and groaning in agony at the impact, patches of skin scuffed bloody by the tarmac. Adam started to walk toward her, but the police officer sought to end their conflict.

 

“Stop or I'll shoot!” He shouted.

 

“Get the fuck out of here you idiot!” Tegan shouted at him as Adam changed direction, a wicked grin on his face and gleam in his eye, heading for the unsuspecting officer. Christ! She wanted to help him but the pain in her chest and ribs was immobilising.

 

“Stop or I will shoot, you bastard!” But the officer's voice was trembling, because what he saw in Adam's eyes was unlike anything he'd ever seen and it made his blood run cold.

 

Still Adam advanced in slow steady steps, seeing the fear enter the man's eyes, drinking it down and loving it. He saw the gun begin to shake in his grasp and chuckled quietly.

 

“For fuck's sake run!” Tegan screamed.

 

The officer panicked as Adam closed on him and fired, the bullets hammering into Adam, but the blonde ignored the injuries, merely grunting at the passing discomfort. The officer watched in horror as the preternatural body began to heal. Now heeding her warning the officer turned and ran but Adam pounced. The officer screamed as Adam lifted him off his feet using only one hand around his throat, Adam's face covered by an insane leer, his eyes wide and manic as he sought to draw out the fear from his victim. Suddenly he snapped the huge man's body next to his own and sank his teeth into the struggling, unfortunate man. The officer screamed as Adam drained him quickly, harshly. The sensation of being drained could be one of extreme ecstasy or one of extreme pain. The speed with which Adam was feeding caused the unfortunate man the latter. He screamed loudly, the screams cutting into Tegan's mind.

 

Tegan struggled to her feet, clutching her side, the pain a red-hot fire. She could only watch disgusted and tortured as Adam gorged himself on the unfortunate officer, his screams fading. They never understood. Why didn't he listen? She was now aware of the slow trickle of blood from her neck where Adam had sunk his teeth into her. How narrowly she escaped death at every turn, though maybe not this time. Adam dropped the body and turned back to Tegan who was supporting herself on the railings. His face was dark, clouded by an evil determination she had never before witnessed in him. All of a sudden she realised that she didn't stand a chance in the face of Adam in this frightening state.

 

Slowly, deliberately he advanced toward her, and for the first time she was genuinely afraid of him. Unlike Demetriov he was out to kill her and was willing to do anything to achieve his goal; she had badly underestimated him. She did the only thing she felt she could do now; she turned and fled jamming the blades in their holsters. Laughing he quickly he caught her and threw her again, as if she was made of feathers. She landed roughly on her back again and rolled away as he dived for her, staggering to her feet once more, trying to gain some distance between them. He rose to his feet slowly and steadily. He could see her fear, and this slow, deliberate pacing of his actions was playing on her fear, making it worse. He was using it as a weapon.

 

Drawing out her right blade, she dived at him as he came for her and was lucky, slamming it home into his shoulder, Adam crying out in pain. He hit her across the face but she stood her ground, pulled it free and slammed it between his ribs. Adam roared in agony as Tegan pulled it free holstering the blade once more and started to run. He attacked her from behind hitting her hard across her body, Tegan staggering from the force of the blow. She dived at him once more but he flung her away and she flew into the railings of the bridge, the momentum carrying her over the top of them. She screamed in panic as she went into free fall, desperately grabbing at the structure of the bridge. By some miracle her hands closed around the cold metal, her arms jolted as they suddenly took the strain of her full bodyweight. There she hung, high above the cold water of the bay.

 

“Here.”

 

Tegan looked up and saw Adam, his hand outstretched toward her.

 

“Take my hand.”

 

His voice was sincere, but when she looked into his face she saw that dark determination hiding inside, the dark glint in his eyes giving away his intent. She knew that if she took his hand he would surely use this opportunity to kill her. She looked down at the water and back at Adam.

 

“You can't hang on forever.” He taunted. “Take my hand and you'll live, for five minutes at least.” He sniggered.

 

She, whimpered as the strain on her shoulders meant she was starting to slip, her grip beginning to fail. But she couldn't give herself to him, so she only had one choice. Reluctantly she let go of the bridge and let herself fall.

 

Tegan felt the wind rush past her, whistling in her ears as she felt her momentum picking up. She fell for what seemed like an eternity, the long drop from the bridge to the water. She breathed deeply and relaxed, waiting for the impact of the water, and the oblivion that was surely to follow. Tegan gasped as her body plunged into the ice-cold water of the bay, the impact sending pain throughout her body. Deeper and deeper into the water she plunged, colder and colder she became. Her descent began to slow, the momentum from the tremendous height of the bridge carrying her still deeper. But despite her fate seeming inevitable, Tegan had never been one to give up without a fight, and certainly wouldn't now.

 

Tegan could feel the current pulling at her, as she began to struggle for the surface, putting every ounce of strength into the effort. She could feel her chest becoming tighter as the oxygen in her lungs began to run out. The currents pulled against her as she struggled, the tightness becoming pain. Still she fought, her limbs tiring, but refusing to give in. She fought against the currents, striving for the surface. The pain in her chest was now a ball of white-hot fire. Through the murky water she could see the surface, just a few metres above her. She was losing strength, her concentration lapsing.

 

Up above Adam watched the water for any sign of her, humming to himself as he waited. Seeing no sign of her he sighed.

 

“Oh well, never mind, its obviously just not my night.” He shrugged, before laughing to himself and walking away.

 

Tegan was close to losing consciousness, oxygen deprivation in the brain causing her to grey out. All concept of colour was lost in the murky water, but she was stubborn, still trying, but then her limbs gave out. She could no longer make the final effort despite the fact she was a couple of inches from the surface. Everything went hazy, pain fading into a white haze, left only with a floating sensation. Suddenly there was an upsurge in the currents beneath her, pushing her upwards; sensation suddenly coming back to her in a moment of crystal clarity. Miraculously she broke the surface. She gulped in air greedily as she was free to breathe at last, freezing cold, exhausted, coughing and spluttering for breath. She was quite a way down from the bridge, carried by the currents, but she had survived. She lived a charmed life.

 

Tegan struck out for shore, every movement requiring great effort. Eventually she managed it and dragged herself onto the bank. She looked around her, trying to get her bearings. By a rough calculation she had been carried a good mile or so down from the bridge by the water in the time that she had taken to reach the shore. She was in a totally different area of the city. She dragged herself to her feet and toward civilisation. She was so cold. She had to get warm before she caught her death of hypothermia, the cold having set right into her bones.

 

She staggered down the deserted streets taking the shortest route she could to home, dripping wet, getting colder and colder still, almost dropping from exhaustion. She shivered uncontrollably, going as fast as she could to keep warm. But fate it seemed had other plans for her. If she thought her problems were over for the night, then she was sadly mistaken.

 

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Author's notes:

At last another update. Well I am cursing myself now that Adam hasn't had more time in this because in some ways he is such a great character to work with. And unless inspiration suddenly hits me, this may well be his last outing. Shame really. But never mind. I will try to get the next one out sooner, honest, but oh dear, Tegan is really in for it now… stay tuned peeps.